Regardless, I made my frittata last night with broccoli. And it was amazingly delightful. Gabe actually ate it without complaint. But Eli thought we were trying to poison him. He says he doesn’t like broccoli with eggs or cheese. Go figure. Dan and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Usually frittatas include bread or noodles. But this recipe actually didn’t call for either. It said to serve it with bread on the side. Which is fine with me when you have delicious bread to go with it. Which I did.

I almost never plan ahead well enough to have all the ingredients I need for the meals I want to make. So I try to find recipes that I can adapt and make my own by using the ingredients I have. This is also useful when dealing with food allergies and in keeping a strict budget.

This is my adaptation of The Food Network’s Vegetable Frittata. (I’m sorry, I failed to take a picture of it. I was going to take it when it was done cooking – there’s not a whole lot of appeal in undercooked eggs – but we ate it so fast there wasn’t time.)

Veggie Frittata

Adapted from the Food Network Vegetable Frittata. 

3 whole eggs

3 egg whites

3/4 c ricotta

1/2 c + shredded cheddar

1/2 c+ shredded mozzerella

1 tsp crushed rosemary

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbls EVOO

1 medium onion, chopped

Kosher salt

Mixture of fresh veggies of your choice (i.e. tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, etc)

2 Tbls grated parmesan cheese

1 scant tsp paprika

Fresh homemade bread slices (we toasted ours)

 Directions:

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

Whisk the eggs and egg whites in a bowl. Add the ricotta and mix until smooth. Whisk in cheddar, mozzerella and rosemary.

Saute the onion in the EVOO in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (iron skillet is wonderful for this) over medium heat. Increasing the heat, add the vegetables and garlic starting with the firmer vegetables first to start cooking them down. Season with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.

Reduce heat to medium. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables in the pan. Cook, undisturbed, until a thin crust forms on the bottom, about 2-4 minutes depending on your pan and stove. Run a rubber spatula around the edge to release the egg from the pan. Continue cooking until the bottom is golden, 2-3 more minutes.

Sprinkle with parmesan and paprika. Turn off stove and transfer pan to the oven. Bake just until set, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover and let sit 5-7 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with warm bread and/or salsa.

“I wish I could write, Dan. I want to write so badly. But I just haven’t got the words.”

I’ve uttered these words on a few different occasions. Most recently, last night. Writing is often my outlet. But I haven’t had an outlet this year. This year has been tough. We’ve had other rough years, and we always make it through. But this year has been a special kind of tough. It started last May. I was having a pretty uncomfortable pregnancy, but unlike the first two, I hadn’t been put on bedrest. Not yet. But then I got sick. So sick that my baby and I almost died. But then, thank God for the medical advances of today (and most certainly for his intervention): Baby Cohen came 9 weeks early and I recovered. But our house was under major construction so much that we couldn’t even live there so they could just pound it out and get it done in time for Cohen to come home to a clean environment. He’s had almost-weekly doctor visits for the past 9 months. Sometimes more frequently. He was in the hospital back in November due to failure to thrive. We have been dealing with Cohen’s health issues ever since. Our dear boy is now 9 months old.  This past month alone, we’ve been to the emergency room four times… did you catch that? FOUR TIMES in less than a month. Twice with Cohen due to a swollen fontanelle which required two ultrasounds, a CAT scan and a spinal tap. It was discovered that he has extra axial fluid on his brain. (Not to be confused with hydrocephalus.) Once with Gabe who had a terribly nasty virus that left him severely dehydrated with dangerously low blood sugar. He was in the hospital for three days. Yesterday, Eli was at his gym class and tripped while running and fell on his head. He started exhibiting telltale signs of a pretty serious concussion when we got home so I packed the boys up again and rushed him to the ER. They diagnosed him with a concussion and did a CAT scan on his brain to verify that he didn’t crack his skull or cause any bleeding. Thankfully, no further damage was done. It’s quite a challenge keeping him from doing regular activities now that he’s feeling better. I can’t keep him from using his brain. I suppose I should be thankful for that. On top of all this, we have suffered almost back-to-back illnesses, same as everyone.

There are times when I have been weary. Oh so incredibly weary. The levels of stress we’ve been under have been taxing. But despite this fact, I have known that the Lord is near. Sometimes I can feel Him. But whether I feel him or not, I have known it to be true. Faith is not a feeling. It is a stronghold. My Lord is near, and he is carrying the burden as I walk alongside him. It is this knowledge, this conviction, this faith that has seen me through.

Homeschooling has been going great. Of course, it has its great moments and its more tedious moments. But there have not been any regrets. And we plan to do it again next year. With the challenge of doctors’ and hospital visits, this has actually been a relief to not have to worry about getting Eli to school and worry about homework and all the extra curricular activities. Not to mention the instability and anxiety he may well have had to face due to hardly ever seeing us. Logistically, it has made more sense. But aside from that, I am super glad that we made this decision. I absolutely love having the boys home with me. I love learning alongside him and watching the “lightbulb go on.” I feel like we know each other better and are closer because of it.

My homeschool planner priorities. The week before was “Keep the family from falling apart.”

We finished reading “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.” Now we’re on to “Prince Caspian.”

Learning about the human body. Fascinating!

Eli made a battleship.

Our one decent snow: the boys made barricades.

I’m proud when they do selfless things on their own. Here they are shoveling our neighbor’s walkway.

Poor Gabey was very sick.

Cohen going through the CAT scan.

Gabe enjoying a deep dish chocolate chip cookie.

Eli has shown incredible talent in the Lego department.

I couldn’t keep this mind from working. Despite his concussion, he was in his room all afternoon building this.

Cohen has recently started eating solids. Although it’s a tricky business figuring out what he’s allergic to and what he can tolerate.

It’s important to take time to just enjoy “being.” These moments are gone too quickly.

Yet in all of this, those who do have power are welcoming people into their homes. Offering them warm showers, hot food, a bed to sleep on. I’ve heard of a couple different families with children who lost their homes to fire in the aftermath of the storm. People are sorting through their own kids’ clothing to set aside what they have to give to those who need it.

There are always those Americans who move on quickly, unaffected by the disaster surrounding them. Negative once again about all the hype. Not realizing the enormity of it, but choosing to turn away when they are faced with it.

We faired quite well. I took the storm seriously from the beginning and as it drew closer, I became somewhat consumed by it. I did everything I could possibly think of to prepare for the worst case scenario. I stocked up on non-perishable foods, cleaned the house, finished the laundry and set aside clothing should we need to depart in a hurry, updated my first aid kit, charged all electronics, collected all flashlights and candles that I could find as well as extra batteries, stocked the freezers with ice or frozen juice, cleaned out the fridge as best I could, and filled as many water bottles and jugs that I could find. I even bought two cases of bottled water just in case. We cleared the yard of anything that could fly away and brought in fire wood for our wood stove. We were prepared. We didn’t lose our power as early as some did, and we got it back the next day. We slept in the living room where it was warm from the fire. We played games and ate junk food. The wind grew stronger throughout the night. It made scary sounds and the power…. oh the power of those gusts! We were afraid our one tree in our yard was going to fall on us. But it held strong. Many branches broke, but no damage was done. We spent the next day at our friends’ house until our power came back on.

My sisters, however, lost their power for much longer. Tiffany and Jarid just got theirs back this morning. They are near the CT coast. Thankfully, they are safe and no real damage was done. Mary and Jeremy are still without so far as we know. They are actually staying at Dan’s parents’ house since they are not there. They say it’s so nice to be somewhere warm and working. Chris and Michelle (Dan’s brother and his wife) are still without power. But they have a generator, so they are doing okay. Huge downed trees are uprooted and broken all over the power lines and streets. The workers can only work so fast. The temps are dropping as stated before, and another storm is brewing, albeit of much lesser intensity. It may not hit us this far inland but will certainly inhibit clean up along the coast. They are calling for an early winter this year, so we are praying for a quick clean up before that happens.

Please remember these who have lost in your prayers. And please remember all the workers out there who are searching for people and helping with clean up and restoring power to millions. It’s a lot of damage out there. But our God is bigger than this. Pray that this storm saves people’s souls.

These are perfect for such times. They are refrigerated croissants filled with chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows. All things that I typically have on hand. (And easy enough to get if I’m at any old grocery store.)

Now, I hate to admit it – being a homeschool mom and all – but I have very little patience in the kitchen. The rule in our house is that everyone needs to be OUT of the kitchen while mama’s cooking. Quite contradictory from the mainstream thought process of bringing the kids into the kitchen and allow them to be apart of the dinner preparation. Or make something special with your kids so that they will learn to appreciate the efforts that go into cooking and maybe they will find it fun and eat what they make. Occasionally I will allow them to help out if I’m quite confident in what I’m doing. But if it’s a new recipe or somewhat involved, I have to concentrate or I will leave something out. (Believe me, it’s a horrible reality when I leave out key ingredients.) My ADD goes haywire when there’s activity and noise going on around me when I’m trying to concentrate on something.

However….

These are so very simple, no thought is needed. The boys were all too eager to help (and munch along the way) that it was done in no time. And Eli is feeling quite pleased with himself for being so independent.

Here’s the recipe. Ready for it?

UNROLL the refrigerated croissants and lay them on the cookie sheet.

Put a nice mixture of chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows in the center of each, towards the wide end.

ROLL the croissants around the fillings.

Bake in the oven according to the directions on the croissant package. Mine was 375 for 11 minutes.

Pull them out and enjoy!

I think about you often. I think of our old friendship and all the fun we used to have. We had our high points and our low points. I’ve shared so many memories with you and so many heartaches. It’s true that I’ve kept a lot from you. And it seems that our friendship has drifted. I’ve gone on with life, and you’ve stayed the same. Same old constant. I know that one of these days, when I finally buckle down and make time for you, you’ll be there for me. We might have to work at rekindling old feelings and it might take time to reestablish consistency in our times together. But we’ll get there.

My life has taken a major turn. And I want to write about it. And I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll pass along what I tell you. Because you are a horrible secret-keeper. I’m just being totally honest. But I can overlook that. Because I’m cool like that.

So thanks for your patience. And thanks for your consistency. By the way, since we’re talking about consistency, I’m probably going to change you in the near future. Because too much consistency just drives me nuts.

Sincerely,
The Author

Yet I keep coming back because I need to record life’s most precious moments. I need to record even the heartbreaking moments that make up who I am today. And sometimes, I just need to write. Sometimes I blog and never publish it because it’s too vulnerable and I don’t want anyone seeing it. But it helped me to write it.

I’ve been thinking about my blog lately and how I need to update it. For all those poor souls out there wanting to know what happened with Cohen. Facebook has been my catch-all. I upload pictures daily and inform anyone who’s watching of the little progresses he’s making. But I’m not friends with everyone. Nor do I want to be. So I need to update my “non-friends” here. (Please don’t take that the wrong way.) But then I think of my desk that needs clearing and organizing. Dinner that needs to be made. A yard and garden that needs attention. And bills that need gone through. When I have a list of things to do, instead of checking them off happily, I tend to withdraw. It’s been a lifelong issue of mine. When I get overwhelmed, I stop dead in my tracks and avert my attention to something shiny along the way. Then that shiny object gets all the attention while the things that really need to be done, just sit there. (Such as what I am doing right now. You could consider this blog entry very shiny.)

Then I feel guilty.

So I don’t do anything.

I’m really painting a dim and bleak picture of myself, aren’t I? I’m not all bad, you know. I have excellent qualities… like… well, I really have things I should be doing right now.

Cohen Robert Simrak was born at 31 weeks gestation, 3lbs 8oz – nine weeks early – due to severe pre-eclampsia. We were both on the verge of death and no one realized how close until after they cut me open and rescued Cohen from a calcified (read “DEAD”) placenta. He had already lost weight inside me. It’s odd to think that a baby at that age is actually safer outside of me than inside. I am so very grateful to be living in this age where the medical advances, even in the last 20 years, have made it to a point where our son can not only survive, but have a greater chance to live a healthy normal life without brain damage or other defects that the medicines they used caused just to keep babies alive.

Have you ever dealt with the realization that you and your baby almost – and could have – died but for the split-second divine decision of someone that recognized it? It’s a strange emotion that I have yet to be able to put into words.

While I was in the hospital, Dan kept everyone up-to-date on his blog, Til Completion.

We have been planning for three years to update the electric in our house. This is a massive undertaking and we planned to do it this year. Dan started it in April, fitting in time to work on the house between his many many work hours on his other jobs. Yes, I said jobs, indicating more than one. My man is one dog-tired man. But a very hard worker. I am so proud of him.

Needless to say, with this sudden change of plans outside our control, the work on the house moved into high gear. We thought we still had two months to finish it. It’s a slow-going process for one man. We are thankful for Dan’s parents who put their lives on hold and gave up so much to drive out here from Kansas City for three weeks to help us. We couldn’t have made it without them. After the scary ordeal, many people were jolted by their shock and concern for our well being. Many friends stepped up and supported us on Facebook and via text. We have many well-wishers. We have been touched and blessed by their prayers and words of comfort and concern during my week in the hospital and by those who haven’t forgotten and are still following us. I just wish we could translate those well wishes and prayers into practical help when it comes to getting our house finished. Our lifestyles in Suburbia are such that it’s hard to slow down enough to help others. I think especially those with young kids, understandably. If nothing else, this experience has opened our eyes, humbled us, and we will not leave this place the same people that walked into it.

We are very thankful for the meal ministry at church. I canNOT tell you the blessing it is to not have to worry about dinners. We are usually at our house in Perkasie where much of the electricity has been turned off and plaster dust is everywhere. Making dinner in that environment would have pushed me over the edge!

I suppose we are feeling the weight of time constraint and exhaustion on top of us and our hearts either grow weaker or stronger. Fatigue and loneliness and heartache are clawing at us. And we need protection from the One who gives it.

Our six year old has caught the flu. Because I might be a carrier, I can’t visit our preemie to nurse him or hold him. And that breaks my heart. Of course, I’m torn because I want to be here for my six year old too, to comfort him and take care of him. He hates that he can’t go outside to play with his cousins and brother. And that makes me sad too. I am praying praying that no ones else gets this and that it passes quickly for him.

I’ve been dying for some banana bread. I’ve had three bananas in the freezer for quite a while waiting for the right time to make bread. Then the other day, Vince (he lives on our third floor), came down and was about to throw away four more bananas. “WAIT! No! Don’t throw them away!” I yelled at him. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. “They are turning brown up there,” he said. “I’ll bake with them.” He didn’t even know you could do that with slightly browned bananas.

So today, after putting the boys down for naps, I pulled out the frozen bananas and all the ingredients to make my loaves. I wish I had whole wheat flour because I would have used that. But since I haven’t been doing a whole lot of baking of late, I didn’t want to buy it lest it go bad. So I decided to use oatmeal. I used regular quick oats. You can also put them in a processor and grind them finer if it floats your boat.

You can use anywhere from 4-7 bananas for this recipe. The more you use, the more dense it will become. It makes two large loaves. I split mine and made one more slightly smaller loaf for a friend. So while my loaves turned out a fine size, they could have been fuller had I not split it.

Also, you can choose to leave out the butter/margarine by replacing it with either greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce. I actually used some butter and applesauce. That’s what’s so great about these quick breads: they are oh so versatile. You can pretty much do what you want, add what you want, mix things differently, and they will still turn out well.

There’s nothing quite like having bread of any type baking in your oven and then enjoying a delicious warm piece when it comes out.

Sooo… after writing this, I realized I made a common mistake (for me). I must preface this with Iamnotsurprisedintheleast. Since I am one of the biggest flakes I know personally (emphasis on ONE OF…), I have to expect this of myself. If I am distracted in the least, I make mistakes. And it’s extremely easy to distract me, I might add. So here goes… I left out the sugar. Completely, not an ounce of sugar in my bread. But you know what?? I didn’t even notice. Those 7 bananas plus applesauce I put in the mix surely made up for it. So if you have seven overripe bananas in your house that you need to use up, feel free to leave out the sugar. The overripeness of them is sure to make up for it.